World Literacy Summit 2018

World Literacy Summit 26th - 28th March 2018

The World Literacy Summit will once again take place in Oxford. The dates are from Sunday the 25th of March till Tuesday the 27th of March 2018. Registration will take place both on Sunday evening from 6pm at Trinity College (opposite the Sheldonian Theatre) and also at 9am at the Sheldonian Theatre. The opening ceremony will commence at 9:30am and will also include the presentation of the 2018 World Literacy Council Awards. A feature of the 2018 Opening Ceremony will be the Albert Schweitzer Medal and Lectureship which will be awarded for the first time. This new award as well as providing a medal and cash prize provides the opportunity of a major lecture at an Oxford University College. The recipient will be selected as someone in the tradition of Albert Schweitzer who has devoted his or her life to supporting people in the developing countries. Special emphasis will be given to education but in the tradition of Albert Schweitzer medicine will also be recognised.

The conference will have both key note speakers on Monday the 26th and Tuesday the 27th in the Sheldonian Theatre and also ample opportunity to hear a variety of papers that will be given in the various lecture rooms at Trinity College which is immediately opposite the Sheldonian Theatre. A special reception will be given at Trinity for the Award winners and there will also be a dinner at the Balliol College Hall.

Whilst the World Literacy Summit always centres on literacy and the role it plays in improving peoples lives from year to year we identify a theme that is central at the last Summit we concentrated on the theme of “Literacy to End Poverty”. In 2018 we would like to concentrate on the Empowering Aspect of Literacy and we have decided to adopt the theme of “Closing the literacy gap in the 21st Century”.